The Walima is the groom's family's reception, and in most Pakistani weddings it is also the function with the longest guest list: colleagues, neighbours, the families of friends, people who missed everything else. Its invitation goes to more people who don't know the whole family than any other.
That changes what the card needs to say.
Who the Walima invitation comes from
The Walima is hosted by the groom's family, so the invitation comes from them — usually the groom's parents, sometimes the groom himself for friends and colleagues. The bride is named as part of the couple, not as the host.
If both families are hosting a joint reception instead, say so. "The families of Hamza and Areeba invite you" is a clear, modern way to write it.
Formal wording in English
Mr. & Mrs. Khalid Mehmood
request the pleasure of your company
at the Walima reception
of their son
Hamza
with
AreebaSunday, 6 December 2026 · 8:00 PM
Royal Palm Golf & Country Club, Canal Road, Lahore
For colleagues and friends
Hamza & Areeba
invite you to celebrate their Walima
Sunday, 6 December · 8:00 PM
Royal Palm, Lahore
Dinner will be served at 9:30 PM
The dinner time is worth adding for the Walima specifically. Colleagues plan around it, and it quietly answers the question nobody asks out loud.
Urdu wording
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
ہمارے صاحبزادے حمزہ محمود کی دعوتِ ولیمہ
بروز اتوار، ۶ دسمبر ۲۰۲۶، رات ۸ بجے
رائل پام گالف اینڈ کنٹری کلب، کینال روڈ، لاہور
میں منعقد ہو رہی ہے۔آپ کی شرکت ہمارے لیے باعثِ عزت ہوگی۔
منجانب: خالد محمود و اہلِ خانہ
What guests need on a Walima card
- The venue and a map link. Walima guests are the least likely to have been to the family's other functions, and the most likely to be driving there for the first time.
- Parking or entry notes, if the venue has more than one gate.
- The dress code, if there is one. Walimas are often formal or black-tie-adjacent; if you'd like pastels, say so.
- Whether children are invited. The Walima is where this question comes up most, because it's where people bring their families who weren't at anything else.
Should colleagues see the other functions?
Usually not. If your colleagues are only invited to the Walima, the link they receive should show the Walima only — not a card listing the Mehndi and the Nikkah they weren't asked to. On a digital invitation each function has its own link, and with private guest links each guest sees only what they're invited to, with their own name on it.
When to send it
The Walima is usually last, but its invitation shouldn't be. Colleagues and families from out of town need the most notice — send it with the rest of the wedding invitations, not the week after the Baraat. Our timeline for every function has the details.
A Walima card worth opening
The Walima is the evening of the wedding most guests photograph, so the card is a good place for a beautiful design. Dastaan e Wisaal closes on the Taj at night with fireworks, and Rewind turns the whole wedding into a 90s family video — Walima included. You can try one with your names and see it as your guests will.